One Foot Off Center: Kelowna’s crossroads of safety, jobs and growth

What holds Kelowna back?

Castanet presents One Foot Off Center, a podcast tackling the big issues facing the Okanagan.

Rick Maddison, Ron Mattiussi, Scott Lanigan and Cassidy deVeer meet every month to discuss how these issues impact everyday Canadians.

Maddison is a well-known entrepreneur in Kelowna and owner of Tempest Media. Mattiussi is the former chief administrator of the City of Kelowna and has worked in local government across the province.

Lanigan is the lead pastor of Trinity Church, one of Kelowna’s largest churches, who has served with various community groups like Journey Home.

Cassidy deVeer, the newest member of the panel, is the executive officer of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association of Central Okanagan. She is known for asking the uncomfortable questions, focusing on practical outcomes, and cutting through theory to get to what actually works.

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On this week's podcast, the panel discusses the complex issues facing Kelowna as it balances its identity as a resort destination with the realities of a rapidly growing urban centre.

The discussion touched on everything from street safety and housing to the urgent need for a more robust local economy.

Scott Lanigan pointed a recent list that ranked Kelowna the 122nd most desirable place to live in the world.

"What lowered our rate of desirability was safety, and that was one of the biggest factors," Lanigan said, adding that the city needs to find a "more human, relatable focus" to help those caught in the cycle of homelessness.

Cassidy deVeer pointed to the economic divide between the wealthy and regular folk in the Okanagan.

"We're a city of haves and have-nots," deVeer said. "We need to have a lot more high-paying jobs in this community if we're going to get people moving here to live and work and raise a family here."

Host Rick Maddison suggested that while technology like CCTV might help with safety, the root of the issue is often financial. "The jobs would fundamentally solve a whole bunch of problems," Maddison said, discussing the potential for 24-hour monitoring to change the "face of safety" in troubled areas.

Former Kelowna city manager Ron Mattiussi argued that enforcement and surveillance only go so far without provincial support for mental health. "People need to be treated, until our government, in fact, deals with that, and we could hire all the police we want and all the bylaw officers, because they can't do anything."

Despite the hurdles, the panel agreed that Kelowna is not going to stop attracting people anytime soon, with Mattiussi noting that "people still find this a desirable place to live."

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.

One Foot Off Center: Kelowna’s vacancy rate could mask future economic pain

High vacancy hides pain?

Castanet presents One Foot Off Center, a podcast tackling the big issues facing the Okanagan.

Rick Maddison, Ron Mattiussi, Scott Lanigan and Cassidy deVeer meet every month to discuss how these issues impact everyday Canadians.

Maddison is a well-known entrepreneur in Kelowna and owner of Tempest Media. Mattiussi is the former chief administrator of the City of Kelowna and has worked in local government across the province.

Lanigan is the lead pastor of Trinity Church, one of Kelowna’s largest churches, who has served with various community groups like Journey Home.

Cassidy deVeer, the newest member of the panel, is the executive officer of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association of Central Okanagan. She is known for asking the uncomfortable questions, focusing on practical outcomes, and cutting through theory to get to what actually works.

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Kelowna's rental vacancy rate now sits at 6.4%, among the highest in Canada.

With provincial and municipal government policy encouraging development of rentals, some see the rising vacancy rate as a sign that housing pressures are easing. At the same time, vacancies at that level traditionally discourage developers from entering a market.

Kelowna's vacancy was previously as low as 0.6%, which saw rents soar.

"There’s a downside to 6.4 per cent," said deVeer.

"What I find so interesting is that nobody's put together the high rate (8.6%) of unemployment right now. It's wonderful vacancies are high... but unemployment is also high. So what does that mean? It means people have left our city to go find work elsewhere."

Local construction companies have felt the impact directly, with one firm shrinking from 18 employees to just two, and award-winning renovators now working solo jobs just to stay afloat, according to deVeer.

"I don't really call that lucky for a lot of people."

Part of the issue, according to Mattiussi, is that the market is currently "off equilibrium."

"I think getting up [to this rate] was a perfect storm... nobody builds multifamily. You make the commitment many years before you pour the concrete," Mattiussi says. "I think on one hand, we're overbuilt in the condo market... The best thing it does is it brings rents down... but is that a healthy way to bring rents down? No, I don't think so."

The discussion also highlighted the skyrocketing cost of delivery as a major barrier to new housing. deVeer points to what she calls B.C.’s aggressive building codes, which exceed national standards, as a key driver of costs.

"Our homes are highly over-engineered," says deVeer. "If we're going to change anything, we have to address the cost to build because labour rates aren't going down... We tax housing like we do alcohol and cigarettes, which is crazy."

While development cost charges (DCCs) remained a contentious topic, Mattiussi argued they are necessary to prevent taxpayers from footing the bill for new growth, though he admitted there needs to be a balance.

"Without DCCs in place, I've watched developers go bankrupt in the 90s," Mattiussi says. "When you look at the city of Kelowna, it has some of the highest rates in BC, and yet the lowest rates of property tax."

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.

One Foot Off Center: Tackling transit and housing density issues in Kelowna

Density and transit puzzle

Castanet presents One Foot Off Center, a podcast tackling the big issues facing the Okanagan.

Rick Maddison, Ron Mattiussi, Scott Lanigan and Jeff Cox meet every month to discuss how those issues impact everyday Canadians.

Maddison is a well-known entrepreneur in Kelowna and owner of Tempest Media. Mattiussi is the former chief administrator of the City of Kelowna and has worked in local government across the province.

Lanigan is the lead pastor of Trinity Church, one of Kelowna’s largest churches, who has served with various community groups like Journey Home.

Cox is the founder and CEO of Kelowna-based Simply Benefits.

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On this episode, the panel discusses the challenges of balancing transit infrastructure and density in Kelowna.

Former Kelowna CAO Ron Mattiussi believes the best way to get more BC Transit routes is to have enough people in an area using the service.

"I think in this particular case, they're pretty much forced to have the density to prove out the need for the transit," says Mattiussi.

Jeff Cox highlighted the need for better infrastructure, citing Kelowna's poor road connectivity.

"For people who travel for business or personal outside of this city, you do recognize that this is probably one of the worst infrastructure cities that I know of. We've created, no central corridors in and out of the south Mission," says Cox.

The panellists talked about a better way to go from the Kelowna International Airport to the Mission area of Kelowna.

"There needs to be some foresight. But I don't know that that falls on the city," Cox says.

Mattiussi points to the way the City of Kelowna developed, "for the longest time, this was a little farm town. Go to the Mission. There's no grid, little cul de sacs, and all these people are emptying out into one road.

"In fairness, you look at our history, what wasn't done, because nobody back then had the vision to see what the city could actually be, and that's where you should have been, you know, building some of that infrastructure."

Trinity Church's lead pastor, Scott Lanigan also pointed out that the living wage in Kelowna is around $54,000 and that most people living on that wage need to use public transit.

"That's for the basics, nothing exceptional. That's just, paying your rent and food, and it's for helping with transportation. So it's transit, not a car, because that doesn't cover a car." Lanigan also questioned how much influence Kelowna's municipal government has over transit issues.

"I think, in a perfect world, if you wanted to create transit density, just do it as part of your official Community Plan, and do it as part of an overall plan. Do it as you plan the infrastructure," says Mattiussi.

The former chief administrator for the City of Kelowna called for a wide variety of housing types, "and then, let's be efficient. Infrastructure is really expensive, if we're gonna put it in the ground, let's make sure we get as much density as we can," Mattiussi says.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.

One Foot Off Center: New leader for BC Conservatives and safe injection sites

Rustad's lack of leadership

Castanet presents One Foot Off Center, a podcast tackling the big issues facing the Okanagan.

Rick Maddison, Ron Mattiussi, Scott Lanigan and Jeff Cox meet every month to discuss how those issues impact everyday Canadians.

Maddison is a well-known entrepreneur in Kelowna and owner of Tempest Media. Mattiussi is the former chief administrator of the City of Kelowna and has worked in local government across the province.

Lanigan is the lead pastor of Trinity Church, one of Kelowna’s largest churches, who has served with various community groups like Journey Home.

Cox is the founder and CEO of Kelowna-based Simply Benefits.

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On this week's episode, the panel discusses BC Conservative leader John Rustad's tumultuous departure as leader of the party.

Scott Lanigan and Jeff Cox analyze Rustad's leadership failures, emphasizing the need for self-awareness and authenticity in leadership.

"If I'm a leader, and I'm only getting 70 per cent of the people that I lead to go, yeah, I want to follow that guy. There's a problem, and you have to do something. You have to change it," Lanigan says.

Cox agreed it was time for a change at the top of the party.

"This government could be blown over by my two-year-old, in all honesty. I mean, it is ugly. So it's time. When polling says that there is no official opposition, it's time to find a leader, and it's time to widen that tent," says Cox.

Time for a new approach?

The panel also criticized the BC Conservative Party's strategy, suggesting it is time for a more centrist approach to provincial politics.

"I think, as a leader, if no one's following you... I think there was enough discontent. I remember Christy Clark said, when she was premier, 'when you're a leader in provincial politics, your biggest worry isn't who's in front of you, it's what's coming from behind," says Mattiussi.

The panel agreed that if the party wants to move forward they should take a page out of Mark Carney's book and hog the middle and lean to the right.

One Foot Off Center host Rick Maddison then shifted the conversation to drug addiction issues.

"There's a vending machine in Rutland. A lot of us didn't know of its existence. Drug paraphernalia is apparently in this vending machine, so it has crack pipes and straws," Maddison says.

Some have asked why so many of these efforts seem to wind up in the Rutland area of Kelowna.

Mattiussi disagreed with that assessment.

"I don't think that's true. We did the one by the former McDonald's site, which nobody even knows is there, because it's sort of under the radar.

"We basically plotted everyone (harm reduction) in the city, it was a bit like a shotgun blast out of the centre. They're pretty evenly distributed. Maybe they're where the people that are using them are?"

Harm reduction under microscope

Mattiussi says he was working with council when safe injection sites and vending machines first came to Kelowna and while he says he understood the need at the time, he was always disappointed by Interior Health's follow through.

"I thought it was really important to hand out syringes so people aren't becoming infected. The biggest problem I had is that they (Interior Health) could seem to care less about what happened to them after and then that became our problem, and it was a huge problem," Mattiussi says.

Jeff Cox talks about how heartbreaking it is to look at some of the homeless issues on the streets of Kelowna, "it's sad to walk in here today. It's sad to walk into my office every day... and see it bothers me when I walk by. Cox pointed to the policies started by former mayor Colin Basran."

"Colin was notorious for talking about the Portugal model. The core component to the Portugal model is pretty much, yes, we will help you, but you have a choice, get sober and stay sober, and if that fails, you're going to jail.

"The Portugal model works. We just left the biggest part of the Portugal model out, and that's actually getting people sober," Cox says.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.